The AI Experience

In this episode, Lloyd and guest Michael Stiefel discuss the use cases for AI in warfare.

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In this episode, Lloyd and guest Michael Stiefel debate the topic of "the Metaverse" and borrow concepts from Matthew Ball's original paper, which can be found here: https://www.matthewball.vc/all/themetaverse

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In this episode, Lloyd and guest Michael Stiefel debate whether the brain is a computer. Michael's article on the topic can be found here: https://www.infoq.com/articles/brain-not-computer

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In this episode, Lloyd brings on guest Michael Stiefel to discuss the state of Artificial Intelligence in the field of surveillance.

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In this episode, Lloyd discusses the applications of AI-generated and -enabled avatars.

Episode Guide:

• 0:43 - Intro to AI Avatars
• 1:22 - Motivators & Use Cases
• 5:31 - Future Applications
• 6:49 - Massive Interactive Live Events (MILEs)
• 7:24 - The AI Avatar Stack
• 8:06 - Startups & Venture Capital
• 9:06 - Ethical Concerns & Challenges

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In this episode, Lloyd discusses some of the really large, but finite numbers that mathematicians make use of.

Episode Guide:

• 0:58 - Intro to Finitely Big Numbers
• 2:08 - Orders of Magnitude
• 3:22 - Googol, Googolplex, Googolplexplex
• 5:22 - Skewes Number
• 7:44 - Graham's Number
• 12:04 - Knuth's Up-Arrow Notation
• 15:31 - MIT's Big Number Duel
• 17:30 - Exploring Infinity
• 17:58 - Hilbert's Paradox of the Grand Hotel
• 22:25 - Levels of Infinity

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In this episode, Lloyd discusses the use cases for Artificial Intelligence in the sports industry.

Episode Guide:

• 1:25 - Augmented Reality & Fan Experience
• 3:20 - Advertising with AR and AI
• 3:47 - Synthesized Viewpoints
• 4:36 - Franchise & Venue Management
• 6:31 - Enhancing the At-Home Experience
• 7:07 - Player Tracking & Performance Optimization
• 8:15 - Behavioral Profiling & Targeted Marketing
• 10:09 - Social Functionality, Content, and Gaming
• 11:13 - "The Curation of Everything"

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In this episode, Lloyd discusses the Turing Test and the challenges surrounding the classification and identification of machine intelligence.

Episode Guide:

• 0:36 - Intro to the Turing Test
• 3:03 - The Imitation Game
• 5:21 - ELIZA & PARRY
• 7:51 - The Chinese Room
• 9:40 - Loebner Prize
• 11:25 - Challenges & Artificial Stupidity
• 13:29 - Alternate Formulations
• 15:46 - Predictions 

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In this episode, Lloyd discusses Genetic Algorithms and the unique framework that allows them to be effective.

Episode Guide:

• 1:34 - Intro to Genetic Algorithms
• 3:13 - Survival of the Fittest
• 6:08 - Genetic Encodings
• 8:54 - Quantitative Breeding
• 13:17 - Limitations & Drawbacks

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In this episode, Lloyd discusses Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), one of the more recent developments in the field of AI that has gained immense traction.

Episode Guide:

• 1:47 - Intro to GANs
• 3:40 - A Helpful Example
• 6:16 - Deepfakes
• 8:24 - Other GAN Applications
• 9:28 - Drawbacks: Adversarial Machine Learning

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In this episode, Lloyd discusses Good Old Fashioned Artificial Intelligence (GOFAI), the predecessor to the approach to computation currently in focus in the industry.

Episode Guide:

• 1:13 - Intro to GOFAI & Symbolic AI
• 3:48 - GOFAI Explained...Sort Of
• 8:05 - The Impact of GOFAI

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In this episode, Lloyd discusses the concept of Artifical Consciousness, as well as the philosophicaland ethical issues surrounding it.

Episode Guide:

• 0:50 - Intro to Artificial Consciousness
• 3:39 - The Ship of Theseus
• 5:02 - What is Consciousness?
• 7:40 - Machine Ethics
• 9:37 - Turing Test
• 12:53 - A Case For Skepticism
• 13:51 - Boltzmann Brains
• 16:58 - Current AI Research

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In this episode, Lloyd discusses GPT-3, the latest development in Natural Language Generation from OpenAI, produced by a Machine Learning model trained on 175 billion parameters. 

Episode Guide:

• 0:59 - Intro to GPT-3
• 2:43 - Byte-Pair Encoded Tokens
• 3:49 - Conflicting Opinions & GPT-3 Capabilities
• 8:30 - The Nature of Understanding & Clever Hans
• 12:27 - Implications of GPT-3
• 19:43 - Weaponized NLG & Practical Concerns

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In this episode, Lloyd describes the concept of The Metaverse and how it might play a role in bringing about a renaissance in Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

Episode Guide:

• 1:08 - Intro to The Metaverse
• 2:03 - Expected Characteristics of The Metaverse
• 3:27 - What Will We Do In The Metaverse?
• 7:54 - The Role of Artificial Intelligence
• 10:57 - Virtual Worlds As The Catalyst For An AI Renaissance
• 16:11 - Fortnite, The Unreal Engine, and Epic Games

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In this episode, Lloyd explains the concept of "Instrumental Convergence" and breaks down the relevant arguments made and concerns raised by leading AI theorists.

Episode Guide:

• 1:14 - Intro to Instrumental Convergence
• 4:17 - Riemann Hypothesis Catastrophe
• 6:20 - Paperclip Maximizer
• 7:33 - Basic AI Drives
• 17:01 - AI Control Problem
• 18:10 - Possible Solution: AI Box

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In this episode, Lloyd discusses the notion of unintended consequences by tracing trends and examples throughout history and then relating them to topics in the AI field today.

Episode Guide:

• 1:10 - Intro to Unintended Consequences
• 1:56 - Unexpected Benefits
• 3:28 - Unexpected Drawbacks
• 6:42 - Perverse Results
• 12:21 - Unintended Consequences in Artificial Intelligence
• 13:58 - A Word on Autonomous Vehicles
• 17:22 - Other Concerns
• 19:06 - Self-Reinforcement Learning & Negative Feedback Loops
• 25:32 - Bain Report

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In this episode, Lloyd discusses the topic of predictive policing, which has recently garnered particular attention as mathematicians circulated a petition urging colleagues to sever ties with law enforcement agencies.

Episode Guide:

• 1:20 - Intro to Predictive Policing
• 3:59 - A Scientific Veneer for Racism
• 5:56 - Negative Feedback Loops
• 9:49 - PredPol & ICERM
• 14:30 - The Impact of Facial Recognition
• 18:22 - Playing Devil's Advocate
• 19:25 - Minority Report IRL
• 22:03 - Disparate Impact
• 26:05 - The PATRIOT Act & The Role of Abstraction

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In this episode, Lloyd discusses the topic of misleading advertising as relates to Artificial Intelligence. It expands upon and follows an article which can be found here: https://bit.ly/InfoQ_MisleadingAds

Episode Guide:

• 1:53 - Intro to Advertising AI Solutions
• 2:53 - Definitions & Terminology
• 5:57 - Confusion & Conflation
• 9:03 - Forms of Misleading Advertising
• 12:43 - Impacts of Misleading Advertising
• 14:28 - Signs of "Real AI" At Work
• 17:56 - Signs of "Fake AI" At Work
• 19:27 - Theranos & The Mechanical Turk
• 21:57 - Ambiguity Among Practitioners
• 24:21 - Questions to Ask

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In this episode, Lloyd discusses the concept of "existential risk" in the context of the current global pandemic as well as the pursuit of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

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In this episode, Lloyd revisits a prior discussion on facial recognition, in light of recent news that Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft are all changing course in the way they monetize the technology. This conversation is especially relevant in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, subsequent protests, and governmental response. The podcast was released with a newsletter on the same topic, which can be found at https://bit.ly/AI_Today_Issue014.

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In this episode, Lloyd talks about ICED(AI)'s pledge to provide $100,000 worth of pro-bono consulting hours to small businesses and individuals who have been impacted by discrimination and social unrest. The conversation then focuses on the ways in which human biases seep into algorithmic decision making, as well as the impact of this phenomenon on society. 

You can read more about the pledge here: https://bit.ly/ICEDAI_Pledge

Episode Guide:

• 2:02 - The ICED(AI) Pledge
• 3:20 - Intro to Algorithmic Bias
• 6:40 - Racial Bias in Healthcare Algorithms
• 10:18 - Biased Training Data
• 12:10 - The Orwellian Future of Facial Recognition
• 14:51 - Algorithmic Accountability
• 16:04 - Disparate Algorithmic Impact
• 18:04 - The Curious Case of Car Insurance
• 19:56 - Effective Altruism & Challenging Assumptions
• 24:29 - A North Korean Anecdote
• 29:44 - The Need for Compassion & Empathy

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In this episode, Lloyd discusses why it is that machines struggle to interpret ambiguous input, and what the implications are for the pursuit of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) . The conversation focuses on a blog post by ICED(AI) advisory, Michael Stiefel, which can be found at bit.ly/ArtAndSoftware_Ambiguity.

Episode Guide:

• 1:42 - Machine Intelligence & Art
• 6:15 - Real World Recursion, Simulations and Simulacra
• 9:49 - Moravec's Paradox, Revisited
• 13:07 - "The city council refused the demonstrators a permit because they [feared/advocated] violence."
• 16:10 - Anthropic Bias and Practicality
• 19:48 - Existential Risk
• 21:33 - "Code Is Law"
• 25:25 - The Threat of Ambiguity

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In this episode, Lloyd and Geoff discuss what it would mean for a machine to exercise agency or volition. The conversation touches upon topics including quantum mechanics, ethics, metaphysics, causality, and parallel universes, in addition to Artificial Intelligence. 

Episode Guide:

• 2:46 - Can Machines Have Free Will?
• 7:36 - Distinguishing Lies From Errors
• 14:06 - Libertarianism, Determinism, Compatibilism
• 21:41 - Comments on Causality
• 28:53 - The Unknowable Unknowns & Butterfly Effect
• 34:33 - The Multiverse & Quantum Suicide
• 41:50 - The Illusion of the Self & Linguistic Ambiguity
• 48:08 - Can Machines Have Free Will?
• 50:18 - The Anthropic Principle

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In this episode, Lloyd and Geoff delve into the nature of optimization problems in mathematics and their role in Artificial Intelligence. They then discuss the concept of reimagining one's life as a convex optimization problem. 

Episode Guide:

• 1:55 - Introduction to Optimization
• 9:02 - The Role of Optimization in AI Systems
• 14:21 - Exploring via Gradient Descent
• 17:53 - Imagining Life as a Convex Optimization Problem
• 21:58 - The Parameterization of Happiness 
• 24:55 - The Fractal Nature of Entropy
• 26:32 - Happiness, Utility, and Attention
• 32:28 - Questioning the Model
• 36:34 - A Discussion on Decision Fatigue
• 39:25 - Properly Scoping the Optimization Problem
• 48:10 - The Utility of the Expected Value Framework

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In this episode, recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic, Lloyd and Geoff dissect Artificial Intelligence through the lens of paradoxes that originate in a variety of different disciplines. They discuss what the requirements for achieving the synthesis of human intelligence ought to be and how 

Episode Guide:

• 1:13 - Exploring Moravec's Paradox
• 6:36 - The Bounding Box For AI
• 10:53 - Thoughts on Creativity
• 14:16 - A Word on Narrow vs. General Intelligence
• 19:07 - The Call for Skepticism & Caution
• 25:07 - The Coastline Paradox 
• 32:36 - Uncovering Phenomenological Biases Through Xeno's Paradox
• 38:22 - The Relevance of Artificial Intelligence
• 39:56 - The Unexpected Hanging Paradox
• 42:56 - The Raven Paradox
• 48:36 - Closing Thoughts on Skepticism & Caution

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In this special episode, Lloyd and Geoff discuss the current crisis surrounding the coronavirus and COVID-19. They talk about the ways in which businesses and individuals are impacted, how Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning can play a role in finding a solution, and what opportunities currently exist for engineers and data scientists. 

Episode Guide:

• 2:16 - Dr. Javier Mendoza, a Covid-19 Hero (and ICED(AI) Charter Member)
• 3:33 - Always Be Closing, Pandemics Notwithstanding 
• 6:16 - Seeking a Market Bottom
• 12:58 - Briefly Considering Options & Impacts
• 16:14 - The Role of AI in Combating the Coronavirus
• 17:50 - The Role of Technology During a Pandemic
• 22:42 - A Case of Mistaken Identity & Market Participation Amidst a Panic
• 24:41 - How to Optimize Time Spent in Quarantine
• 30:04 - Lasting Impacts on Business and Tech
• 31:34 - Opportunities for Engineers
  

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In this episode, Lloyd and Geoff discuss some of the most concerning aspects of facial recognition technology, as well as the potential for benevolent use cases and positive externalities.

Episode Guide:

• 2:16 - Intro to Facial Recognition
• 8:31 - Clearview AI & Legal Concerns
• 9:51 - Dangers of Biased Training Data
• 15:20 - How Intelligent is Artificial Intelligence?
• 16:47 - An Existential Cost-Benefit Analysis
• 19:33 - The Expectation of Benevolence and Transparency
• 25:17 - Trading Privacy for Security  
• 32:23 - The Future Threat of Emotional Recognition
• 39:56 - Silver Lining or Inevitable Surveillance State?

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In this episode, Lloyd and Geoff discuss the role of artificial intelligence in the US sports betting ecosystem amid its exponential growth phase. They also cover the ethical, economic, and regulatory aspects of this burgeoning industry.

Episode Guide:

• 1:30 - Intro to Sports Betting & State of The Industry
• 4:56 - Historical Role of Predictive Analytics
• 10:48 - Evolving Role of Machine Learning
• 13:07 - Risk Management for Sportsbooks
• 16:13 - Additional Use Cases
• 18:42 - Responsible (Sustainable) Gaming
• 23:30 - Ethics of Legalized Sports Betting
• 30:31 - Economic vs. Social Interests
• 31:40 - Offshore and Unregulated Markets
• 33:07 - The Utilitarian Case for Sports Betting
• 36:46 - Leagues vs. Operators, Integrity Concerns, & Match Fixing
• 41:00 - Official League Data Mandates
• 45:30 - Thoughts on Regulation and Betting Exchanges

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In this episode, Lloyd and Geoff discuss the incredible benefits provided by the use of AI in healthcare, along with some of the terrifying ethical dilemmas that said use causes to manifest.

Episode Guide:

• 1:19 - Google's AI Breast Cancer Detection Engine
• 5:50 - Ethical Dilemmas & Causes For Concern
• 9:25 - Use Cases For AI in Healthcare
• 14:13 - Data Privacy, Data Mining, & Data Rights
• 20:21 - Digitization of Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
• 25:24 - The Human Element
• 32:22 - Keeping Perspective

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In this episode, Lloyd and Geoff discuss the history, current state, and future trajectory of game-playing AI engines, particularly those focused around poker, chess, and Go. 

Episode Guide:

• 1:11 - Intro to Game-Playing AI
• 7:45 - AlphaZero vs. Stockfish 8
• 11:11 - The Emotionless Infallibility of Computer Memory
• 13:59 - Discussing Poker, Hidden Information
• 17:45 - Computer's Mind's Eye
• 26:28 - A Discussion on Free Will, Suffering, and Human Nature
• 31:52 - The Next Frontier
• 46:36 - A Note on Adversarial Machine Learning

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In this episode, Lloyd and Geoff discuss the state of the AI industry, looking back to 2019 and the past decade, as well as 2020 and the one upcoming. 

Episode Guide:

• 1:56 - AI Index Report 2019 Recap
• 6:54 - Investment & Innovation: Chicken or the Egg?
• 11:46 - Open Sourcing & Other "Exogenous" Factors
• 15:19 - Ubiquity of AI Systems & Ethical Dilemmas
• 23:21 - The Turing Test & Other Benchmarks
• 32:18 - Predictions & Food For Thought 

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Lloyd and Geoff discuss the rise of autonomous vehicles starting with the DARPA grand challenge and ending in the current state of the art before discussing the trajectory of future tech. Welcome to The AI Experience!

Episode Guide:

• 0:25 - History & Current State of Autonomous Vehicles
• 7:28 - Ryan Used Me As An Object Recognition Engine
• 13:44 - The Experience of a Tesla Owner
• 17:14 - Computer Vision & Metaphysical Ponderings
• 25:05 - The Convenience of Symmetry
• 28:36 - Las Vegas Autonomous Taxi Market
• 34:49 - Chinese Governmental Support
• 38:20 - The 21st Cenutry Trolley Problem 

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